Last August I came across the Retreat (part of Random House Canada) book club Reading Bingo 2013 Challenge, a printable bingo card with 24 reading challenges, encouraging people to challenge themselves to read more and read more widely. Despite the late start I tried my hand at filling the card and by the end of the year I almost covered it entirely, coming up just two squares short. (I mean seriously – who gets book recommendations from their barista?)

This year’s challenge is now up, and while it won’t be easy I’m going once again try to fill the entire card:

Some early thoughts:

Last year’s challenges were somewhat more interesting than this year’s. A book you saw on TV? A book written by a celebrity? A book by a Canadian author? By comparison, this year’s challenges are mundane (though equally challenging). The folks at Retreat may have saved their creative juices for their spin-off YA Reading Bingo Challenge, which includes challenges like A Book with a Dragon and A Book Based on a Myth.

That said … A Book with Non-Human Characters? That’s going to be a tough one to check off. Though I do have a copy of Animal Farm lying around somewhere.

I’ve read two books this year and both fill multiple squares. Which reminds me to mention my (and Retreat’s) only rule – only one square per book. But I don’t have to decide just yet what squares I’d like to “use”.

Those two books? Morrissey’s Autobiography (a book with a one-word title, a book I heard about online, a book of non-fiction, a book with a blue cover) and Jim Thompson’s Savage Night (a book that is more than 10 years old, a book with a mystery).

Like last year I’ll be interested in hearing how others are doing. Let me know in the comments. Feel free to drop your thoughts or suggestions about particular books.